ka-t headgasket question

[ditchs14]

hey guys. got a quick question. this is mostly for the guys who are running over 14psi. heres my setup

built forged bottom 9:1
bc 264 cams
bc oversize valves
all arp hardware. im running the old arp headstuds(the 1.9 saturn ones)
t3/04e @ 15psi
hks 740cc


so i blew my first head gasket. was a felpro. took the head off and everything is fine. nothing is warped. i was at the strip and i just got my bee r a few weeks ago. testing out the 2 step... anyway #4 cylinder started burning coolant after my third pass. car has around 10,000 on the new motor. coolant was NOT in the oil.

the gasket had two small holes between cylinder 2&3 and by #4 as well.

so my question is..im going with a felpro again.is there anything i can do to prevent this from happening again? a buddy had the same thing happen to his KA-T(built with t28) after a few thousand. he said that instead of just hand tightening the studs in like it says. he used an Allen key and tightened them down pretty good before putting the head back on. haven't had a problem since. also i saw that on arp's new stud kit for the KA it says you can use locktight but you must torque the head down before it sets. soo any tips...

btw i did post this in the FAQ section but apparently no one is home anymore

[booey13]

Why felpro again? Why not cometic?

[Edwin562]

Cosworth makes a HG for the KA, i wanted to try it out but ended up selling my Ka-t.

[JDMRIDDAZ]

use copper spray
or indian shelac...
v8 guys get 30psi
with the indian shelac

[future]

Ever thought the head gasket was the problem?

[ditchs14]

Originally Posted by booey13

Why felpro again? Why not cometic?

i have both a new felpro and cometic sitting in my garage.guys that run mid 400hp run felpro and have no problems with them at all.

i was told by brian at MA motorsports that there is no reason to run a metal headgasket unless your pushing over 500. plus if it was to blow you dont have metal everywhere. but this was after i had first bought the cometic.

[Edwin562]

Originally Posted by ditchs14

i have both a new felpro and cometic sitting in my garage.guys that run mid 400hp run felpro and have no problems with them at all.

i was told by brian at MA motorsports that there is no reason to run a metal headgasket unless your pushing over 500. plus if it was to blow you dont have metal everywhere. but this was after i had first bought the cometic.

only cuz he told you doesn't mean its true. did he give you a legit reason why???

also why not? with a high grade MG, you have the peace of mind. unless your trying to go cheap...idk... just my .02cents

[godrifttoday]

how much power you running?

[rcdad123]

Originally Posted by ditchs14

i have both a new felpro and cometic sitting in my garage.guys that run mid 400hp run felpro and have no problems with them at all.

i was told by brian at MA motorsports that there is no reason to run a metal headgasket unless your pushing over 500. plus if it was to blow you dont have metal everywhere. but this was after i had first bought the cometic.

metal every where if you blow a head gasket with a metal head gasket? not true at all. i have never seen a blown engine with head gasket material all over the engine. go for the metal head gasket. i use Cometic metal head gasket on my customers cars all the time, unless it`s a stock bore Honda/Acura engine in which case i use OEM gasket. i spray a thin coat on both sides of the gasket with a product called Hylomar. you can find them online. also both surfaces of the block and head has to be perfectly smooth and flat for the metal head gasket to seal properly. i also torque the head studs more than what the factory calls for on the stock head bolts.

[ditchs14]

Originally Posted by godrifttoday

how much power you running?

idk never had it on the dyno. mid 300s maybe.

[sodel_s13]

sell what you got, offer s3xual favors if you have to and go v8!

[240dream]

Not to thread jack but what would be a good metal headgasket with a stock bore? I heard cosworth is good but only made in 90.5mm making it 1mm larger than stock bore .would it be okay to use?

Thansks

[TheWolf]

permatex 99ma spray. A boiler maker turned me onto it. Has worked great on mls gaskets where customers are re-using them or someone's got an edgy surface. Spray both sides of the gasket. Let tack and then apply. Have had better results than copper coat.

As to the 90.5mm question.. Yes it'll work.

[mewantkouki]

Deck the head and run a cosworth gasket if you want a permanent fix. I'm willing to bet your head isn't completely flat. There's really no reason to run a MLS gasket under 500whp though. It isn't the head gasket material that is the problem on a ka, it's the clamp load of the shitty stock m10 head bolts. That's why people don't usually have a problem running stock / felpro gaskets with arp hardware. Above 500whp lifting the head becomes an issue, and mls is usually better for the simple fact that it won't disintegrate when hot combustion gas sweeps over it. I personally put 25 psi through my old ka with a stock gasket and stock head studs and have rebuilt several motors with felpro gaskets / arp hardware with no problems. I always torque the studs to 75ftlbs. As long as you don't detonate, or overheat the shit out of the car it will hold.

I'm not sure if it was said earlier too.. but all of this tack spray, hylomar, copper spray business is NOT to be used on a graphite composite head gasket. That's a recipe for disaster.

[ditchs14]

Originally Posted by mewantkouki

Deck the head and run a cosworth gasket if you want a permanent fix. I'm willing to bet your head isn't completely flat. There's really no reason to run a MLS gasket under 500whp though. It isn't the head gasket material that is the problem on a ka, it's the clamp load of the shitty stock m10 head bolts. That's why people don't usually have a problem running stock / felpro gaskets with arp hardware. Above 500whp lifting the head becomes an issue, and mls is usually better for the simple fact that it won't disintegrate when hot combustion gas sweeps over it. I personally put 25 psi through my old ka with a stock gasket and stock head studs and have rebuilt several motors with felpro gaskets / arp hardware with no problems. I always torque the studs to 75ftlbs. As long as you don't detonate, or overheat the shit out of the car it will hold.

I'm not sure if it was said earlier too.. but all of this tack spray, hylomar, copper spray business is NOT to be used on a graphite composite head gasket. That's a recipe for disaster.

see and that's the thing. on the sheet i got with my arp studs it says to 60ft lbs. on the new KA studs it says 70ft lbs.so this time im going to do 75ft lbs.it also says on the ka kit you can put some thread locker on the studs and torque the head down before it sets.

I'm taking my head to the machine shop tomorrow to get it decked anyway. i don't have any plans on making any more power with this motor. 14psi is all this thing will see. its fast enough for me. the cometic gasket i have is a .040". i should know how much they took off tomorrow and ill go from there on witch gasket to use.

[mewantkouki]

chase out the bolts with an old head bolt to get all of the gunk out first, snug them to the block then lay the gasket / head and torque everything. You shouldn't have to re-torque a felpro gasket. The cometic will need re-torquing after heat cycling. If your head isn't decked properly a cometic gasket WILL NOT SEAL. Check the finish! Graphite composite is much more forgiving, copper spray might be enough to get away with minor surface imperfections when using a MLS gasket but the different thermal expansion rates that aluminum and iron see make ka's very prone to shear damaging gaskets.